Reviews for The Sky Rained Heroes

The average rating for The Sky Rained Heroes based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-07-12 00:00:00 Stephanie Ouzts Don't believe the blurb on the cover of this book!!! It is supposed to be a bout a flier who gets a dead soldier's flag and who's son returns it to the soldier's family. It says "a Japanese infantry officer and an American P-51 pilot, meet in a fearsome battle"; a) they never meet and b) the pilot is on medical leave at the time. Then the cover says "the flag propels LaCroix (the son) on a six-year journey across eastern Asia to find the dead officer's family and return the flag". Again misleading! LaCroix (the father) doesn't receive the flag until page 233 of this 256 page book, and the return of the flag is only covered in the last four pages of the book. It isn't a terrible book, just not what the cover would lead you to expect. A lot of the book is about Japanese military history and LaCroix Sr.'s time spent learning to be a P-51 pilot. That takes up a good chunk of the the book because he signs up in June 1942 and doesn't see combat until November 1944. I had gotten the book wanting to read about the return of the flag story so I wound up just skimming many portions of the book.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-10-01 00:00:00 peter lebeck The heart of this book is in the many letters LaCroix's father wrote to his family while serving in Southeast Asia as an air force pilot during WW II. They show the spirit of the man and the closeness he felt with his family as he reveals his exploits and his fears as well as the pleasure he finds in battle. Although I was intrigued by the historical aspects of the book and admire the author for his extensive research, his superfluous writing style made it difficult to read. I found the history of Japan's feudal society that led to their Banzai style of warfare fascinating, as was the history of the Philippines with its centuries of foreign occupation. The details that encompass the training of fighter pilots was especially interesting to me as my older brother was a jet pilot in the Navy in the 50s. His bravado became clear to me. The cultural differences in our two countries, especially as manifested in the Shinto religion, also added to making this a worthwhile read. However, that being said, Frederick LaCroix's lack of confidence as a writer in continuously relying on quotations from other writers to express himself, was more than disappointing. It's too bad LaCroix didn't emulate the sincerity found in the writings of his father and let his own emotions come through.